I'm Blind, not Stupid.

The classroom got significantly quieter as Lucus tiptoed into the room. Ben had gone to the bathroom. Waiting without getting up for an hour straight has a way of doing that to you. He had changed into a spare uniform before going in. Lucus followed the sound of chalk scraping a board.

"Hello. I'm sorry I'm late. I was," he paused, handing her the note, "preoccupied."

"Hello. Now I'm sorry you were busy but you should do better than to be late on the first day of school. First period is already over." she plucked the note from his hand and spun towards the class. "We have another student. Please, introduce yourself." she stepped back, giving him the floor.

"Who's that?"

"Did you go to school with him?"

"He's kinda cute though…"

"Yeah, but look at his stick. He's blind."

"Really? What a shame"

"He looks annoying."

"He's the kid who had a panic attack!"

"The one in the fountain?"

"His hair looks wet. Eww."

"What's up with him?" Whispers were strung around the classroom bouncing back and forth. To anyone else, the room seemed almost silent. But Lucus could hear them loud as day.

"Hi, my name is Lucus. I can't hear. I'm def." he paused waiting for that to sink in." a few people chuckled and a couple even laughed. "Okay, fine. I'm blind. I was homeschooled so I look forward to making friends this year. I'm sorry I'm late." Lucus turned toward the teacher. "So where do I sit?"

"Over there." she pointed to the corner of the classroom. There was an open seat next to the window. She waited for a second for him to move. "Oh, sorry." she pointed at a girl. "Allicia, call him over. He's sitting next to you." she made a small sound, but it was loud enough for Lucus to hear. He strode over and felt out the empty desk while memorizing his route. He could hear a few whispers.

"Do you think he's really blind?"

"Probably not. I mean, this is the top school in the country."

"No way he's blind. How would he understand the teacher?" Lucus stood up.

"I'm sorry. I'm not def. I can still hear you. And for your information, just because my eyes don't work, doesn't mean my brain doesn't either. I'm blind, not stupid." he sat back down and continued staring forward with his hands folded as if nothing had happened. He still heard a few comments about him, but significantly less. Ben had come back into the room at this time and after a quick introduction, he was placed in front of Lucus. Lucus's ear twitched as a whistle went off outside. He could hear the swish of a ball and cheering. Footsteps turning into sprinting. They would be out at the gym next period. What time was it? He couldn't check. He assumed there were only a few minutes left.

It was now a gym and they shuffled out of class. Lucus strayed toward the back of a large group of kids from his class. He locked on to their voices and walked swiftly using his stick. The yard was large and very sunny. There was hardly any shade. Half was asphalt and the other was a large soccer field. They stepped onto the field and they announced that they would be making teams for soccer. The coach looked over at Lucus as he whispered with his teacher. He strode over and placed his hand on Lucus's shoulder.

"Why don't you, sit this one out bud." he guided him over to a bench. "We'll make this quick for you." he rushed away to start the game. When he blew his whistle Lucus jumped backwards and clutched his ears. Loud noises again. Someone sat down beside him.

"Hey. I'm sitting out too. I hate soccer so I faked an injury." Her voice was familiar. She smelled of freshly baked pastries. Allicia.

"Oh, hi Allicia." replied Lucus doing his best to wave at her.

"Oh please, call me Allie. I can't believe they made you sit out. They could have given you something to do. You're lucky they didn't make us write anything yet." She talked a lot. She was friendly and had a certain warmness when she talked.

"Yeah. I can write letters well enough, but only if I know where they go." he laughed, "I actually don't know braille. Never learned."

"Really? Why not?" She tilted her head as if studying him.

"Books in braille are expensive. Much more than a regular book. Besides, I'm okay with audio books. I don't really know how I'm going to do any worksheets or tests though."

"They never gave you any plan or something? This is supposed to be a prestigious school, yet they haven't come up with a way for you to take a test? That seems kind of stupid." Allicia leaned back and sighed. "I came here hoping for a little bit more."

"And why's that?"

"Well my parents are bakers, they own a bakery." that explains the pasty smell, "so I wanted to do well for them, let them retire early or something. Let them know I can do well." She seemed so nice and pure. It was hard to believe that everyone here was some of the top students in whatever school they came from. She was right, it was surprisingly normal. Then the whistle blew again. Lucus jumped backwards. His ears rang. "Do you not do well with loud noises?"

"Yeah. My ears are pretty sensitive. That's why I fell into the…" he trailed off embarrassed.

"Oh come on. We all have our mistakes. And I could tell you have insane hearing. I read somewhere that blind people have stronger senses because they have to rely on them more. I mean, you could hear all those people talking about you before." Lucus opened his mouth to reply, when the coach cut in.

"Time to go. Periods' over." he "helped" Allie up and they walked back to class laughing the whole way.